Chapter 11: The Hall of Unity Returns to the Light of Day, Song Gongming Whips His Younger Brother

Just as the anti-imperial pardon faction, including Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, were arguing endlessly with the pro-imperial pardon faction, including Guan Sheng and Lu Junyi, Zhang Yue proposed a way to settle the dispute:

“Brothers, don’t let this cause discord because of Zhang Yue. Changing the ‘Hall of Righteousness’ to the ‘Hall of Loyalty’ is a powerful move by Chief Song to take control of Liangshan. Loyalty comes first, showing Chief Song’s determination to lead everyone on the right path.”

Zhang Yue’s words were correct. In fact, Song Jiang had been secretly planning the imperial pardon.

From the ranking of Liangshan’s seating order, Song Jiang deliberately arranged those who had surrendered to the court and those from the ranks of landlords and gentry in high positions, while suppressing the ranking of heroes from the ranks of outlaws.

From the perspective of Liangshan’s ruling spirit, Song Jiang deliberately suppressed the core elements of Liangshan’s spirit – righteousness, rebellious spirit, and outlaw spirit – in the hearts of Liangshan’s heroes, while elevating the “loyalty” that represented obedience and the class system to the highest position.

In modern terms, this is a form of mental control over Liangshan’s heroes, an ideological infiltration of the Liangshan group, using spiritual opium to corrode Liangshan’s chivalrous spirit.

Gongsun Sheng, the Cloud Dragon, had long seen through this. Shortly after the seating order was decided, he left Song Jiang’s mental control under the pretext of going home to visit his mother.

Zhang Yue continued, “I, Zhang Yue, am an outlaw, lawless, and the culprit who killed a high-ranking official of the court. I am a great villain. I am honored that you heroes have invited me to Liangshan. If I don’t enter the hall for a gathering, I will feel uneasy.”

Zhang Yue acted very embarrassed and continued, “If I disobey my master’s orders and enter rashly, I will be ashamed of my master…”

“To hell with the bird ‘Hall of Loyalty’! I’ve been wanting to smash this broken plaque for a long time!” Wu Song pushed aside the crowd, drew his saber, and was about to rush forward to tear down the plaque.

Zhang Yue quickly stopped him and smiled at Song Jiang, “Chief Song, I am overwhelmed by your hospitality, brothers. I have a solution that will satisfy everyone. I wonder…”

Song Jiang was sweating profusely. He truly experienced the feeling Wang Lun had felt back then. He was afraid that another Lin Chong would jump out from behind and chop him to pieces with a knife. He quickly bowed politely and said, “Since you have a solution that will satisfy everyone, Brother Zhang Yue, please tell me quickly. Third Brother will do as you say!”

Zhang Yue had been waiting for this. While Song Jiang was still secretly rejoicing at having escaped a disaster, Zhang Yue walked to Guan Sheng’s side, bowed, and said, “May I borrow two of General Guan’s soldiers?”

Guan Sheng, touched by Zhang Yue’s mercy in battle, was naturally delighted to agree.

Zhang Yue turned to two of Guan Sheng’s subordinate leaders and whispered a few words. The two of them handed their weapons to their comrades and ran into the left wing of the Hall of Loyalty, carrying out a tall handstand and placing it directly below the plaque of the “Hall of Loyalty.”

Everyone was confused, not knowing what Zhang Yue was up to. Their eyes were all fixed on Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue then leisurely walked to Chai Jin, the chief steward of Liangshan’s logistics, bowed, and borrowed two of his soldiers. He went to the warehouse and took out a spare apricot-yellow “Acting on Behalf of Heaven” flag.

“As long as this flag is hung above the plaque of the ‘Hall of Loyalty,’ covering the character ‘loyalty,’ I can go in without disobeying my master’s orders!” Zhang Yue said loudly.

Everyone finally understood Zhang Yue’s intention. Song Jiang, seeing that he didn’t have to dismantle the plaque and had saved face, also breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately ordered the soldiers to climb the handstand and hang the flag.

Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, however, stepped out of the ranks. Wu Song was the first to bow to everyone and said, “Brother Zhang Yue, you killed Gao Qiu with your spear. It’s a great relief. I, Wu Er, admire you very much. Let me, Wu Er, hang this flag!”

“Hahaha, count me in!” Lu Zhishen’s voice boomed.

Song Jiang smiled disdainfully and nodded in agreement.

Lu Zhishen and Wu Song exchanged a glance with Zhang Yue. The three of them understood each other.

Lu and Wu resolutely walked to the plaque of the “Hall of Righteousness,” took the apricot-yellow flag from the soldiers, jumped onto the handstand, and unfurled the flag.

The huge flag, as if it had come to life, completely covered Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, the plaque of the “Hall of Righteousness,” and the handstand. Everyone could only see the “Acting on Behalf of Heaven” flag.

Soon, the two of them rolled up the flag and used the apricot-yellow flag to wrap the plaque, covering the words “Hall of Righteousness.”

Coincidentally, after it was wrapped, the plaque clearly showed the three characters “Acting on Behalf of Heaven.”

Everyone saw this and exclaimed, “This is truly the will of heaven!” Song Jiang felt a wave of terror in his heart.

Lu Zhishen and Wu Song finished their task, jumped down, and returned to Zhang Yue’s side. Lu Zhishen gave Zhang Yue a look that said, “Everything is taken care of,” and then ordered the soldiers to remove the handstand.

Then, everyone stood in order of rank, with Song Jiang and Zhang Yue standing side by side at the front, bowing towards the three characters “Acting on Behalf of Heaven,” preparing to move into the hall for a gathering.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a loud bang. The flag that was wrapped around the plaque of the “Hall of Righteousness” suddenly fell down.

Everyone looked up, and the plaque clearly showed three characters: “Hall of Righteousness”!

“This… this… what happened?” Wu Yong jumped out and asked Song Jiang in terror.

Song Jiang’s legs went weak, and he fell to his knees, muttering to himself, “Could it be that Chief Chao is manifesting his spirit? Impossible! This is impossible!”

“What’s going on?” The others were also stunned by this miraculous scene.

“It must be that Brother Zhang Yue killed Gao Qiu, eliminated a scourge for the people, and moved Heaven’s Jade Emperor. He specially showed his divine power, causing our Liangshan Hall of Righteousness to see the light of day again!”

Upon hearing this, tens of thousands of Liangshan heroes, from the big and small leaders to the nameless soldiers of the cavalry and infantry, as well as the purchasing and miscellaneous staff, all knelt down and worshipped.

From then on, Song Jiang’s position on Liangshan began to shake, and Zhang Yue began to become a more popular leader. Even Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, and others began to gradually distance themselves from Song Jiang and become closer to Zhang Yue. This is a story for another time. Let’s continue with Song Jiang.

Song Jiang, seeing that the situation was out of control, pretended to faint from shock and was carried back to his room by Wu Yong and the others.

As soon as he entered the room, Song Jiang ordered someone to call his brother, Song Qing.

Song Qing knew that he had done something wrong for a few small coins, and he was afraid that he would be in big trouble today. He dared not enter the room.

Wu Yong came up with a plan. He told Song Qing to take off all his clothes, take a whip, kneel down, and go into the room to apologize to Song Jiang.

Song Jiang looked at Song Qing, who had been fattened up on Liangshan, entering the room naked, and he was furious.

What made him even more angry was that Song Qing was actually holding a whip himself.

Song Jiang didn’t say a word. He grabbed the whip and whipped Song Qing’s fat body with force. With one whip, Song Qing’s back was torn open.

Song Jiang whipped him thirty or fifty times in one breath. Song Qing’s back was already covered in wounds.

Song Jiang still couldn’t vent his anger. He cursed, “You son of a bitch! You’ve ruined me!”

Song Qing cried out in pain, rolling on the ground, leaving a trail of blood.

Song Jiang continued to curse and whip him. The two Song brothers in the back room were like pigs fighting in a pigsty.

In the front hall, Zhang Yue and the other heroes were having a grand gathering, and bursts of laughter and conversation reached Song Jiang’s ears, stimulating him to whip Song Qing even harder.

Song Qing let out a series of pig-like screams…